Washington: The Republican presidential hopefuls criticised US policy towards Pakistan in a lively and substantive foreign policy debate on Tuesday.
Newt Gingrich, a former House of Representatives speaker, gave a composed performance in the first debate since he surged to the top of polls.
In the debate the Republicans ganged up on Pakistan and questioned whether the US could trust it. Texas Governor Rick Perry called Pakistan unworthy of US aid because it had not done enough to help fight al Qaeda.
“To write a check to countries that are clearly not representing American interests is nonsensical,” said Perry.
Representative Michele Bachmann, a member of the House Intelligence Committee, called Perry “highly naive” and said the United States should demand more from a “violent and unstable” Pakistan with nuclear weapons.
She called it “a nation that lies, that does everything possible that you could imagine wrong. At the same time they do share intelligence data with us regarding al Qaeda.”
Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney said US aid to Islamabad could help “bring Pakistan into the 21st century, or the 20th century for that matter.”
The extensive criticism of Pakistan featured “nasty and provocative language,” said Teresita Schaffer, a non-resident fellow at the Brookings Institution, but she said a Republican president probably would not change Pakistan policy much.
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